WARREN ZEVON
The Envoy [Reissue]
Rhino Records 2007
www.warrenzevon.com

What’s the 4-1-1?
Rhino Records releases The Envoy on CD for the first time. You get four bonus cuts and an introductory essay by David Wild, a contributing editor for Rolling Stone Magazine.

Genre
Rock / Pop / Classic Rock / Folk

The Good
The best known tracks on the disc are still holding up well all these years later. The politically laced lyrics in the title cut still seem relevant today. Only Zevon could write a song about a guy whose wife is cheating on him (“The Hula Hula Boys”) and provide a set of lyrics that makes you laugh your butt off. The very evident growl in Warren’s voice for “Ain’t That Pretty At All” gives the song a very raw in your face feeling. I liked the simple acoustic guitar accompanying his vocals on “Jesus Mentioned”, though I did find the lyrics rather oddly composed.
Another strong selling point for the disc is the fabulous guitar work from Waddy Wachtel. The outro to “Charlie’s Medicine” raises my opinion of what I thought was a mediocre song. His guitar licks also combine perfectly with the emotionally charged lyrics of “Never Too Late For Love.”

My favorite songs on the disc are “Looking For The Next Best Thing” which has long been a personal favorite and the song “The Overdraft.” The latter track has a fast tempo with a great rocking vibe and some serious riffs. The backing vocals to the song give the song that much more presence. As for the bonus material, I really enjoyed 3 of the four offerings. The instrumental “Word Of Mouth” is beautiful and creates a mood as you listen to it. “The Risk” had a great upbeat sound. The alternate version of “Let Nothing Come Between You” has some slightly altered lyrics, and the line “Hear the white boy sing his love song” cracked me up.

The Bad
I didn’t care for the bonus track cover of “Wild Thing”. Even allowing for the individual artist’s flare on the new performance, this is just not a good enough song in the first place and it doesn’t get any better with Zevon’s vocals.

The Verdict
The best part of getting to review this album is that while I had heard the classic tracks from this disc previously, I’ve never owned the album before now and the deeper cuts are mostly all new to me. I think it is a very strong sign when a song you’ve never heard before can become your favorite on the album, decades after it was originally released. I’ve never hidden my deep appreciation for the work of Warren Zevon and there’s no need to start now. The Envoy, which is often referred to as Excitable Boy grows up, is held in high regard by fans even if the sales figures were never there when it first came out. I continue to plead and cajole all music fans that have yet to succumb to the charms of Warren Zevon’s music to pick up this album and learn exactly how great he is for yourselves. You will not regret it for even a second.

Did You Know?
One of the people who appear on the cover of The Envoy is actor Ted Shackleford, best known for his starring role on the show Knots Landing.

Rating: out of 5

Related Reviews:
Warren Zevon - Stand in the Fire [Reissue]
Warren Zevon - Excitable Boy [Reissue]
Warren Zevon - Reconsider Me: The Love Songs
Warren Zevon - Mutineer

--Jay Roberts